Do You Miss Them ???

[jjkrkwood]

Christmas Cards:

 

Over the years I have noticed that my business receives less and less cards via the mail, and more cards via the Internet...

 

This year, noticibly, personal cards from friends have also started to come via email....

 

Whats up with this ? Are no things sacred anymore. ? Although I am not a big proponent of Holiday fuss, somehow receiving a card in the mail from someone you may not have day to day contact with WAS the meaning of Holiday... Getting a card over the internet is just "another ordinary day" to me.....

 

I used to love stringing up the cards, or surrounding my mirror with them. Now, everything is BARE, and I have a folder of email printouts....

 

Any thoughts of the effects of technology on holiday spirit ?

[Decatur Guy]

I agree with you. I also try to send some friends at least one non-Christmas card a year too, even if it's just a postcard that says "hello from Jawjah" or wherever I'm living at the time.

 

I've sent about 25 Christmas cards so far and I have 75 to go. I prioritize my list:

 

1. People who sent me a card when I was in the hospital this year.

2. Elderly friends of my parents and elderly relatives.

3. Friends of mine who have chronic illnesses (I sent them several cards a year).

4. People who have sent me early cards

5. Out-of-town friends

6. In-town friends.

[jjkrkwood]

I agree with you. I also try to send some friends at least one non-Christmas card a year too, even if it's just a postcard that says "hello from Jawjah" or wherever I'm living at the time.

 

I've sent about 25 Christmas cards so far and I have 75 to go. I prioritize my list:

 

1. People who sent me a card when I was in the hospital this year.

2. Elderly friends of my parents and elderly relatives.

3. Friends of mine who have chronic illnesses (I sent them several cards a year).

4. People who have sent me early cards

5. Out-of-town friends

6. In-town friends.

 

Well DG, you take the phrase "reach out and touch" to a whole new level. My list has dwindled, but I still like the personal effort and touch that mailing a card allows....

[bootdad]

I suspect both of you live rather charmed lives - LOL !

 

As a older urban gentlemen with a broad assortment of friends / colleagues this trend you are just noticing has been occurring for the past decade. I have been self employed for more than 30 years and remember a time when my card list 250-300 would be turned over to a freelancer or an intern and he/she could spend 2 full days dealing with just the task of addressing envelopes, etc. Times change / traditions change / life changes ... that being said... this year I will be surprised if I mail a dozen cards! As of this morning - I have received a grand total of 2 cards in the mail - and here we are less than 2 weeks to the big day. The funny thing - the few cards I get tend to come from folks in their 60's and 70's with all the time in the world and people steeped in old world traditions. At any given time I am working with freelancers in their 20's and occasionally in their 30's and they absolutely think it's weird that people would send anything else but an electronic greeting ... as I have said on numerous times during the past decade ... 'we are living in transformative times' and as quaint as many of these old traditions are . . . not much of a reality for a younger generation. I suspect the exception may be those who are old guard high wasp and the 3 or 4 folks left deep in the rural woods - LOL !!!

[seeker630]

Like Bootdad, I noticed a decline years ago. I'll probably only send a dozen or so myself this year. It seems to be a dying tradition.

[nate_sf]

I agree, I miss getting the paper cards. Somehow receiving an email greeting feels like getting a lump of coal in your stocking. Even worse is when the email has some patronizing blurb about "saving the environment by not mailing a card." Don't get me wrong, I'm very much a proponent for environmental issues, but give me a break! You can make perfectly good compost with those paper cards...

 

On the other hand, for people I primarily know through the web (such as forum members) it's nice to get an ecard because you might not be expecting anything so it's an unexpected surprise. In light of not having each others' addresses to send cards, ecards make sense and I enjoy receiving them. Maybe that's a double standard?

[+ purplekow]

On the other hand, for people I primarily know through the web (such as forum members) it's nice to get an ecard because you might not be expecting anything so it's an unexpected surprise. In light of not having each others' addresses to send cards, ecards make sense and I enjoy receiving them. Maybe that's a double standard?

There is no rule to say you cant mail both a regular greeting card and an e card. i do neither, but I do enjoy getting cards, though i admit there are times i fail to open the card once I discern who has sent it.

[Steven_Draker]

I still get them and I love when I get a snail mail greeting card. It's not the quantity that matters to me. Cheers!

[jjkrkwood]

There is no rule to say you cant mail both a regular greeting card and an e card. i do neither, but I do enjoy getting cards, though i admit there are times i fail to open the card once I discern who has sent it.

 

What if the card is in a Purple envelope ?

[+ Charlie]

My list of people to whom I send and from whom I receive cards in the mail is also dwindling, not because I receive ecards instead. I tend to send cards mostly to people with whom I have little other contact during the year, such as distant cousins and friends and acquaintances from my long past. Many of them don't use email, and they are simply disappearing. Recently I discovered that an elderly aunt and her two children, to whom I have always sent cards, are all dead, which explains why I haven't received cards from them in a few years. I always enjoy hearing from people, with messages about what has happened to them during the past year and photos of people I don't recognize. One cousin sent a picture of her son, an aspiring actor, whom I saw only once when he was a child; it would have drawn hits on rentboy.

[josephga]

I still send them but have cut back this year. last year I sent out 15 got 2 in return. this year I sent like 5 or 6 only

[Decatur Guy]

I still send them but have cut back this year. last year I sent out 15 got 2 in return. this year I sent like 5 or 6 only

 

I usually get about one-third to half the number I send out. I don't particularly keep count but I will quit sending to someone if I notice they haven't sent one several years in a row -- the exception to that is my parents' elderly friends and elderly relatives. They get one no matter what. All of those are already sent out.

[wayout]

I find sending and receiving Christmas cards a real pleasure and it is not the same feeling for me when receiving an e-card because it just seems like little thought or effort is attached to them (in general and there are exceptions). I especially like Christmas cards that have an individual/personalized note included (ideally hand written). While I understand that if someone has a long list of cards to send they may not be able to write too much but I always believe at least a personalized line or two is important, especially if it is the only communication I may have with them every year.

 

Having said all that, I am happy to receive some kind of card (snail mail or email) from friends and family rather than receive nothing at all. How personalized they make them makes a big difference on how happy I am though. Here is my general rule of of thumb for preference for getting cards (highest to lowest):

 

Snail mail card with personalized note (always such a wonderful pleasure to open up).

Email card with personalized note (well at least they are making an effort to make it relevant to me).

Snail mail card with nothing other than signature (what's the purpose of sending this?).

Email card with nothing other than signature (how lazy is that? especially if bulk email to a thousand people).

 

I keep close track of who I send to and from whom I receive cards from. I always make sure I send a card to everyone who sends me a card. For some reason I don't feel the need to reply to an e-card with another e-card. Seems like we are not taking things very seriously by just doing e-cards. For those on my list that I send cards out to, my general rule is after 2 years of not receiving something back they are put on "suspension" until I hear from them again. The exception is for the elderly and those I know are sick. The Christmas mailing list is getting shorter and part of it is the older folks are passing away and not being replaced by the younger generation who I definitely have noticed are not into sending cards through the mail (and often times not even by email). I lament this passing of a tradition I find meaningful and joyful.

 

Btw, I also have a similar feeling about sending and receiving thank you cards.

[jjkrkwood]

There is just something about walking into a store, and standing in front of the Greeting card section and picking out the Perfect card for the intended recipient, that can NEVER be replaced with email, in my opinion. But we may not have a choice in the future as these card stores will disappear just like the bookstores are....

[Mark450]

I love sending and receiving Christmas cards. I like to use the cards I receive to decorate the house. But I too have noticed a decline in the number of cards I receive. With that said, I have started receiving more cards from companies I have delt with. I used to throw those away, I now use them to decorate with if the front doesn't blatantly contain advertising. If the front is pretty, I'll forget soon enough who sent it anyway. I also have the 2 year rule. If I didn't receive a card from you for 2 straight years, you are off the list. Exceptions being made for elderly relatives and friends.

[Decatur Guy]

There is just something about walking into a store, and standing in front of the Greeting card section and picking out the Perfect card for the intended recipient, that can NEVER be replaced with email, in my opinion. But we may not have a choice in the future as these card stores will disappear just like the bookstores are....

 

I agree. (Although I send out so many cards that to make it affordable, I buy them in bulk and at discounts.)

[Guest countryboywny]

I send snail-mail cards to the people for whom I have a mailing address. If I don't have a mailing address, I send an e-card.

[zeyfur]

I hate e-cards. Also green cones that are supposed to be a metaphor for a Christmas tree. What's wrong with a good old fashioned tree anyway ?

[adriano46]

Thank God this post came AFTER I already mailed out about 75% of my cards this year (over 500, and this is not bragging).

 

I have my own list over the years divided into sections or stages of my life:

1) My childhood friends (and friends of my parents from that period, who are sadly fewer and fewer);

2) my high school friends (the vast majority of the mailing);

3) college friends (amazingly have little or no interest in keeping up with no more than 25 of them);

4) post grad friends and my first work;

5) professional friends from jobs of the last few decades;

6) acquaintances - a controlled group that I treasure for its limitedness (I have so many friends in the other categories, I am reticent to expand much more);

 

Of course I excluded my immediate family - relatives, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews etc... which are all really in #1.

 

A few years ago I sent out the majority of Christmas greetings in a colorful e-mail; was disappointed I received so FEW responses.

 

This year I did not send out a single e-mail Christmas greeting (so far) but have these 500+ letters going out, though I have to admit, writing personal notes in the majority is getting hard, but I push myself to do this, and especially to add the personal note as a way of saying, "I value our friendship." And although each year I promise to cut down the list by removing those who have not written in years.. I find I only delete those whose notes come back "addressee unknown".

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

I enjoy seeing sending and getting the cards. Part of the fun is remembering some shared experience as I address each card.

 

It will be interesting to see how the planned cut back in postal service impacts cards next year.

[gallahadesquire]

I enjoy seeing sending and getting the cards. Part of the fun is remembering some shared experience as I address each card.

 

It will be interesting to see how the planned cut back in postal service impacts cards next year.

 

When I was hospitalized last year, my Sister came through and had a cleaning service do their best. Among items lost was my Rolex [another story]. She then decided to relieve me of one of my fondest childhood memories, my aunt's silver egg cup set. Yes, hideously useless (do you know what egg does to silver?) but she ripped it off. One of my best memories.

 

 

I know I'm off topic, but it's the memories that count, when you get down to it. And Christmas Cards have not been of my memories.

At least I have my grandfather's clock (ca. 1928; full length chimes) and the sideboard 9date unknown, but gorgeous veneer.

[happyguy2]

I have noticed a decrease over the years, but I still send and receive several hundred and I really appreciate them. It is so nice to hear from people I no longer see that often!